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Band of Brothers
by Ben Greenwood | 26/07/10

Briggs, Craven, Cronshaw, Dempster, Downing, Greenwood, House, Lapthorne, Newton, Southam, Locke, Windsor…

12 names; 12 lives; 12 personalities; all brought together for a common goal. But what makes these riders come together as a team, and more importantly, what drives them apart?

Look around your office or work place; do you like everyone you see? Do you get on the guy sat opposite you? Would you go for a drink at the pub with your boss? Now imagine living with these people for weeks at a time, sharing a room with them, sharing your time with them. They will be there when you go to sleep, and they will be there when you wake up. These people are your workmates, your friends, your family all rolled into one. This isn’t something you have to put up with in real life, unless that is you’re in the army, or you’re a professional cyclist.

One of the most important parts of having a good team starts well before the season begins. In fact it starts well before the previous season’s even finished. This is when the team manager does his best to sign the riders he wants for the next season. A mistake on his part could spell disaster, because if he selects the wrong mix of riders, those whose personalities clash, or whose loyalty cannot be guaranteed, then the team is beaten before it’s even started.

A team that won’t work together is just a load of individuals wearing the same kit, and like a page 3 girl, it might look nice, but when it’s asked difficult questions it’s soon going to be left looking stupid. Real Madrid and Liverpool might have the best players but they constantly disappoint, while teams like Villa and Fulham look average on paper but always outweigh expectations. Big stars and big egos might bring in the fans, but they also bring infighting and selfishness. It’s only with the right riders that a team will fully reach it’s potential.

With his men selected and the winter doing it’s worst to suck the enthusiasm out of the nation, it’s time for the first appointment of the year, the team launch, followed soon after by the team training camp. This is a crucial time in the formation of any team, as the old guard share stories from the long months they’ve spent apart, and the newbies meet their new ‘family’ for the first time. They say first impressions are vital, and as the riders shake hands, they desperately try to form a connection with the man they’re looking at. There’s a good chance your going to be sharing a room with this guy at some point. The last thing you need is for him to hate you before you’ve even started.

Now before you start imaging all the riders in the team hugging each other like life long friends, it’s important to dispel any false ideas. There’s not a single team in any top-level professional sport where everyone is best mates with everyone. It doesn’t happen in everyday life and it certainly doesn’t happen in sports teams.

This generally isn’t a problem if everyone has a mutual respect for each other. Each rider in the team has his own group of close allies, guys who would give their life for him and vice versa. These riders will always ride for each other giving 100% for their mates. The problem for the manager is will riders give 100% for teammates who aren’t their mates? This of course depends on the rider in question and what their motivations are.

Some riders are professional enough to give their all regardless of who they are required to help, while others require a bit more persuasion from the boss in order to do their job properly.

Occasionally like in the case of Nicolas Roche and John Gadret, then team work and team spirit goes out of the window completely, or in Roche’s ideal world, Gadret goes out of the window, ideally with as much force as possible. These situations are of course rare, and need to be dealt with rapidly by the team manager before they escalate and result in serious problems.

Luckily for a team like AG2R they have a big enough race program to keep those 2 guys apart for the near future. In a small team this isn’t always possible, and after a falling out it’s always important to make up quickly before any lasting bad feelings remain.

Of course the best teams are the one’s where they avoid racing each other and stick together as a tight unit. The best example would probably be the HTC Columbia lead-out train. Those guys have only one goal and that’s to deliver Cav to the line first. Whether this is because they are all best mates or because they enjoy earning the money Cav wins them, doesn’t really matter. Each rider has his own motivations and as long as all the guys on a team are working towards the same goal whatever their underlying reasons, it’s always going to be a tough team to beat.

Money, fame, friendship, loyalty, professionalism, they’re all reasons why we work as a team. Which one you chose isn’t important, there’s strength in numbers. Together we stand; together we fall.

Benji

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